Wednesday, December 30, 2009

O Tannenbaum…

We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on our tree this year. Although I like it, guess I’m used to it. Thought I’d give it top billing in a post to give B the credit she deserves and take advantage of having fired up Windows Live Writer (the only way to blog) to post some miscellanea.IMG_6798 (683x1024)xmas tree 2009_7119 Panorama (1024x859) IMG_7183 (683x1024)The kids got new scooters for Christmas and were tearing up the streets of Walldorf the next day.IMG_7246IMG_7263 (1024x683)Sophia was invited to a Christmas circus this evening and, having spent so much time around her over the holidays, I’m really missing the little scamp. Here are some pictures that are helping me get through this little emotional crisis (she should be back home melting us with her cuteness in an hour or so).IMG_7156 (683x1024)Really cool kids have matching coat, All Stars and scooter wheels. As I’ve told you before, Sophia is very cool (even cooler than you).IMG_7245 (683x1024)IMG_7247 (1024x683) Finally, I got my desktop computer back on line and have begun processing the video we’ve been shooting this month. Enjoy Miss Emily dancing to Christmas music (in English!) at her ballet recital.

Monday, December 28, 2009

The sacrifices we make for our kids…

I guess as a parent you’re supposed to take the sacrifices you make for your kids in stride or even pride yourself on them. I’m not that magnanimous…

Today I sat through a few hours of full-on torture in Wiesloch. It’s the holiday season, which means it’s Nutcracker time. Normally, I successfully duck this engagement. This year, B caught me in a moment of weakness when buying the tickets and I acquiesced. I figured it would send the right message to the kids and might even be a bonding experience. What the hell was I thinking?

The venue, the Palatin, was ok, although most high schools in the US have better theaters. The seats are almost comical, reminding me of a school cafeteria.IMG_4677 (1024x768)IMG_4682 (768x1024)I know it’s not cool to say stuff like this, but I HATE BALLET! I realize it’s artistic, requiring lots of skill and years of dedication and training, but so does juggling chainsaws, and I have absolutely no interest in watching that for two and a half hours.  IMG_4687 (1024x768) IMG_4701 (1024x768)I actually had a minor medical crisis during the intermission (probably psychosomatic), but apparently not even stigmata is a valid excuse to skip out of a family ballet outing as far as the Mrs. is concerned. What can I say? I tried.

Anyway, the kids seemed to enjoy it and I guess I begrudgingly take some satisfaction in that. Consider this official notice to my lovely wife and anyone else who reads this blog: I’M NEVER GOING TO THE BALLET AGAIN (unless I can get a bargain rate ballet company to do Swan Lake at my funeral).IMG_4660 (768x1024)IMG_4647 (768x1024)IMG_4648 (768x1024)On a lighter note, one of Emily’s best friends was there and had tickets right beside us (literally no seats in between). Funny coincidence.IMG_4674 (1024x768)IMG_4699 (1024x768)Finally, all that frou-frou dancing inspired Emily and Sophia (a little) to go up on the stage (long after the production had ended) and finally provide some entertainment this dad can get behind.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Retro Chic…

Although there was no shortage of high-tech gadgetry at the Prickril Ranch this Christmas, Santa also unloaded some old school gifts that the kids seem to enjoy. First up, “Doktor Bibber”; better known as Operation out West. Only in America could a game whose sole function is to induce massive levels of stress in kids become so popular.IMG_7228 (683x1024)The girls enjoyed Twister way more than I expected.IMG_7224 (1024x683)IMG_7237 (1024x683)Next year, I’ll be scouring central Europe for Lincoln Logs and magnetic gyro wheels (am I the only one that remembers this “toy” that was already passé when I was a kid?).  

The haul…

No doubt about it, Santa was good to the kids this year. After dutifully leaving an abundance of cookies out for him (on a custom-purposed plate), the kids went to bed and had visions of sugar-plums (slam) dancing in their heads in no time.IMG_7168 (1024x683)Luckily, B was there to take a shot of the undisturbed collection of presents ‘neath the tree soon after Santa jetted off to points further north (an assumption based on an exhaustive analysis of the hoof and skid depressions left on our roof).IMG_7183 (683x1024)The kids, having gone to bed at 11:00 or so, managed to sleep until almost 8:00, late enough to instill profound thanks in the breast of any parent. Here are a few shots of the most prized booty. IMG_7210 (683x1024)The Wii Fit was giving Emily a workout before we even took it out of the box!IMG_7191 (683x1024)IMG_7199 (682x1024) IMG_7184 (1024x683)

Christmas Eve Photo Op…

On Christmas night we had our good friends the Kalsis over for one of the best Christmas dinners in recent memory, both in terms of the friends assembled and the holiday grub. Firstly, the crowd. Preet and Manpreet arrived with their two daughters at around 18:00. The kids disappeared, playing quietly until dinner was ready. We adults sat around sipping beer and wine and chatting while a Christmas compilation (put together just in time thanks to Amazon.de) set the mood.xmas table panorama_7131 Panorama (1024x376) IMG_7126 (823x1280)IMG_7141 (1280x853)IMG_7088 (1024x683) As is our tradition, we outsourced most of the dinner preparation to the Bolz Metzgerei in Kirchheim. They outdid themselves this year. The ham, as usual, was off the charts. The duck breasts were so big I still have trouble believing they came from normal ducks. I’ve almost convinced myself that there’s a race of super ducks that still haven’t unwound decades of  steroid abuse and genetic engineering foisted upon them in the former East Germany. I made mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker but, having peeled them this year (under duress from the Mrs.), they didn’t come out right.IMG_7150 (1024x683)IMG_7151 (1024x683)Luckily, B overbought (as usual). Saturday is a holiday in Germany meaning grocery stores will have been closed for essentially 4 days straight. Somehow we once again missed this memo. Our winter hoarding instincts saved us from starvation. Sor far, we haven’t grown tired of ham, duck and the five-minute miracle that is Stovetop Stuffing (thoughtfully purchased for us by some friends in the military).   IMG_7152 (1024x683) Before the festivities commenced, we took enough pictures to scar the retinas of our gorgeous progeny. Enjoy.IMG_7001 (853x1280) IMG_7012 (853x1280) IMG_7050 (834x1280)IMG_7054 (853x1280) IMG_7112 (1280x853) IMG_7157 (1280x853) IMG_7162 (1280x853) I love the natural majesty Emily displays in the pose below. We’ve always considered her our little princess, but this takes the cake.IMG_7051 (853x1280)In case you’re wondering, the ring in the picture above is worth its weight in pencil shavings.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Birthday beef…

Continuing our tradition of celebrating birthdays multiple times, we had dinner at Zum Ritter on the actual night of B’s. To commemorate the occasion, she ate a rib eye the size of a hubcap. It was delectable.IMG_6936 (1024x683)Here are a few more shots of the little ones, who can be commended on their (almost) exemplary behavior.IMG_6966 (1024x683)IMG_6946 (683x1024)IMG_6952 (683x1024)IMG_6945 (1024x683)IMG_6947 (1024x683)Finally, here’s B waiting for the sparklers to burn down so we could enjoy her birthday (cheese) cake.      IMG_6956 (1024x683)

Bar the door! B turned 34!

We vacillated for weeks on the topic of a birthday party for B. So close to Christmas, it’s sometimes tough to assemble a quorum and let’s face it, it’s a ton of work. Luckily, a friend of ours offered her house. Unfortunately, she had to un-offer it at the last minute due to a family emergency. Regardless, we’re really glad we went ahead with a little get-together (including our friend, whose delay in travel made her family and her available for our little shindig).IMG_6848 (1024x683)The party was a pretty traditional affair with Christmas overtones until a few of the guys started talking with way too much authority about the subtleties of Scotch. Ever the cynic, I decided to test their palates (and their resistance to large amounts of alcohol). In an odd coincidence, I had received several bottles of all kinds of Scotch from different people for my birthday. I’ve never been a Scotch man, but have also never been one to look a gift bottle “in the mouth”.IMG_6806 (1024x683)IMG_6786 (683x1024)I approached the contest fairly methodically given my already inebriated state. We had been drinking beer most of the evening, turning to Jack and Coke once the sun went down. The tasting competition went like this: I hid 3 bottles at a time under my side of the table and poured a small drink of each for all 4 of us. I then recorded on paper folks’ guesses as to the brand.IMG_6851 (683x1024)How well they did identifying the Scotch is somewhat immaterial as in an hour or so, we somehow managed to drink almost a full fifth of Scotch each. If I wasn’t much of a fan of Scotch before, I can assure you that if I never drink a drop of it before I go to the big distillery in the sky, that will be just fine by me. I’ve only spoken to one of the other participants directly since then, but have no reason to think anyone pulled a Jimi Hendrix.IMG_6877 (682x1024)I never did a proper head count, but from the pile of coats and shoes in the foyer, I’d say we had a pretty decent crowd.   IMG_6839 (1024x683)IMG_6880 (1024x683)The snow made for a beautiful afternoon and kept the kids entertained to boot!IMG_6871 (683x1024)